Feel Better Soon!

I made this card for a friend of mine but could also send it to myself as I've come down with an awful bug. We had a bit of a scare a couple of days ago when Mum took a tumble and I had to ring for an ambulance, they really are fabulous men and women. One of the chaps was the same medic that came out when Mum had her heart attack and he had also been out to my Dad too. He noticed the changes to the kitchen and hoped he wouldn't be around to see the next phase .. .. Anyway, Mum is glued back together, literally, but he said that if the bug I'd got was the one his family have had, then it's rotten and will take a while to get over. I am dosed up with Lemsips, Nurofen and hot toddies - so mostly don't care anyway!!!!

My card is a sweet LOTV stamped image coloured with my Copics then cut out with a circle Nestie. The mat is a Nellie's Choice fancy circle cut from green textured card and the paper is another magazine freebie piece. I decorated with a snip of cotton lace, pretty flowers, punched leaves and a smattering of pearls.

Charisma Cardz have an anything goes theme, as does Creative Inspirations, so I'll enter with them.

Thank you for your New Year Wishes, when I am feeling a bit better I will get around to visiting everyone. I do hope that 2012 is a good year for us all and although there may be many changes ahead, I am keeping positive that they will be changes for the better.

So, to all my dear friends and followers, I raise a glass to say

Happy New Year!

The potting shed

I am so looking forward to spring .. .. I've had enough of cold, wet and windy weather and hope that in just another month I can start sowing seeds in the conservatory. Mind you, now that I have a garden shed I'll have to check and see if there have been any winter visitors sheltering from the weather! I've coloured my LOTV image with Copics - and did you know that there are 12 new Sketch shades coming out in 2012? I have updated my chart and printed out a new one ready to colour in, although with plenty of gaps still in it, I'll not be rushing to get all the new colours straight away. The two new green shades, G43 and G46 will be top of the list along with E84 and E89 as they will go perfectly with the existing shades I already have. If you would like a copy of my blank chart just email me and I will send it to you - it prints out on 1 page of A4 in landscape and is an excel file.

Back to my card. The papers are more magazine freebies, I think they are by Nit Wits, and I have matted with coral textured card. I've inked all my edges with brown chalk ink then decorated with Marianne diecut pieces and a bow tied with seam binding tape. The old WOJ text is stamped with brown Momento and seemed the perfect addition to this cute little micey nice scene.

The Dutch Dare card challenge is for favourite things: mine are LOTV stamps, dicuts and gems - it's not often that I create a card without one or more of my favourite things on it. Today I managed to persuade my hubby and son to bring down some more craft boxes from the loft so I will have to unpack and find homes for more stamps and embellishments .. .. .. it will be good to have things organised and to hand, but might take me a while longer yet!

Happy New Year!

Our challenge this week on Cute Card Thursday is to create a New Year project. I left it until the last minute to create my DT card, and then couldn't decide on a cute stamp to go with my one and only New Year text stamp, it's from a Serendipity Cling set I've had for years but rarely use. I wanted to heat emboss the text but my powders are still up in the loft .. .. .. so I had to make do with stamping in brown Momento ink instead. The colours aren't quite right as I had to take the picture last night on the kitchen worktop with the flash - the leaves are cut from a textured cream cardstock and the flower from a textured caramel coloured card so both are darker in real life.

My card base is a C6 thick kraft and I've inked the edges with a brown chalk ink to tie it in to the stamping. The embellishment is cut from Marianne dies then layered up with a piece of wide striped ribbon, an antique metal flower and a big pearl - simples!

I used Marianne Creatables dies LR0122 (poinsettia leaves) and LR0128 (flower).

Do stop by the CCT blog and take a look at the rest of the team's fabulous creations, and read about our sponsor and prize for this week.

The For Fun challenge is for something new so I'll enter my card with them too.

Sweet Wishes

at last a quiet day! and a chance to get out my Copic pens and indulge in a little colour therapy. I treated myself to a couple of the cute LOTV mice stamps and together with pieces of freebie magazine papers I've put this card together.

The floral embellishment is a mix of Marianne diecuts with touches of sparkle gems and glitter for the icing sugar. The green card is a textured piece of Coredinations in my stash, and hopefully the ribbon isn't too pink to tie it all together.

I've coloured the mice with E30 and E31 plus a touch of pink R20. The jam is R20, 21 and 22 while the cake and icing sugar is E50, 51 and 53. The icing sugar box is E000, E40 and E81 plus YG11 - I tend to use the pens a little like paint and blend as I go, as long as they are nice and juicy that is. I wanted to bring a green into the picture so used it for the jam jar along with the clear blender to make it paler in the middle of the pot. My shadows are warm greys for the bottom and cool greys at the top around the box and sieve.

Not sure if there is a challenge out in blog land that this one would fit. I've not been able to check back too many days as the connections are pretty poor here - but hopefully I can get around to visit some of my followers in the next couple of days.

I found a challenge to enter - Everybody Art has an anything goes theme.

wahaaay!

Another scheduled post .. .. only it didn't .. .. this is the card I made for my eldest grandson. The image is one of my new LOTV stamps, coloured with Copics and then a simple layout again with a scrap of paper from my stash and the wet glue and loose glitter.

To finish things off I've punched out snowflakes and decorated the centres with sparkly gems.

By the Cute and Girly December challenge and the Critter Sketch Challenge both have the theme of let it snow, perfect! And the Papertake Weekly challenge is to share your last Christmas card make in 2011 - yep, this is going to be my last one for this year! I'm packing my stuff away and cleaning house ready for the festivities, although I do have a couple of get well cards to make for friends so maybe I'll leave my pens out for a while longer yet .. .. ..

A little Tweet

Fingers crossed this one appears as it's being scheduled, just in case I don't get a connection as the internet is being iffy again .. .. I ordered several new Christmas Lili of the Valley stamps but just haven't had a chance to play with them all this year. Once the festive season is over I'm determined to get a start on next year and get them inky! I have lots of cute image stamps but not quite so many traditional designs, so these cute little robins didn't need much persuasion to flutter into my basket! I've coloured with Copics and used a LOTV sentiment as well.

It's another simple layout with bits and pieces I can lay my hands on. The patterned paper is a magazine freebie and I've gone mad with the wet glue and loose glitter again, finishing with punched bits and pieces to create my embellishment and sparkly pink gems in the centres of the poinsettia flowers.

The Sweet Stampin' Challenge theme is for sparkling and sweet creations, while Stamptacular Sunday are dreaming of a pink Christmas. All hopefully be able to link up to them later in the day.

Santa's Letter

I have had a hectic weekend getting the last few Christmas cards made and the presents sorted - just need to do a bit of wrapping up now. Most of the food is in except for the fresh salad and veggies to get later in the week. I'll ice the cake this afternoon and sit down and make sure I have all the ingredients for my recipes - I might just be organised after all! I am tired though, very tired, and the ME is certainly causing me some problems. I'd like to help get a few more tiles up in the bathroom and the kitchen, but think things may be on hold now until the new year. Hopefully my hubby will be here towards the end of the week and we can find the box of decorations in the loft so the place can be a little festive after all. As my grandsons will be here on Christmas Day I feel we should make an effort!

Today's card is for my youngest grandson so I've gone with bright colours, although the enhancement on the pc has perhaps made them a little bit too bright! The image is an old stamp from Sugar Nellie and I've used my Copics to colour in. I even made a note of the main shades I used: reds are R24, 27, 29 and 39; greens are G03, 05, 07 and 29; Santa's letter is E0000 and E40; and the browns are E53, 55, 57 and 59. I added BG0000 and BG000 for background shading before going around the image with the wet glue and loose glitter.
It's a simple layout with a scrap of digi paper from Cuddly Buddly (a free download from last year), a Cuddly Buddly sentiment and diecut poinsettias finished off with a couple of red domes.

Paper Sundaes have a celebratory theme and the One Stop Craft blog are looking for some Christmas sparkle - lots of sparkly glitter on my card!

I'll try and catch up with my commenters over the next couple of days, although I get very frustrated with the snail speed the internet runs at down in this part of Cornwall so keep wandering off to do something else while it tries to make a connection!

It's that time of year!

I'll be quick with this one as Blogger and my internet are misbehaving again! Our theme this week on Cute Card Thursday is stripes, and DT card has stripy snowflake paper in the background, plus my snowman has a plaid scarf and that's sort of stripy! I've coloured with my Copic pens then added sparkle with wet glue and glitter - a messy affair to say the least!

Here's the card. The image is from an old Serendipity Cling set that comes out year after year and the text came with the set. The paper is a magazine freebie and I've simply added a selection of punched a diecut snowflake embellishments.

The ABC Challenge blog have F for Frosty as their challenge theme, the Paper Play challenge is simply for Christmas while the Colour Create challenge is to use silver, blue and white. I have backed my image and text with silver card as well as cutting out silver snowflakes.

Let it Snow

I was fiddling with the camera to try and get a decent picture of this card .. .. and in the end gave up! The close up of Sylvia's new digi Let it Snow image isn't too bad, although the colours are looking a little washed out. I coloured with my Copic pens and finished that part of the card over a week ago, but it has taken me until now to finish putting it all together .. ..

Now this is definitely the wrong colour, the blues are looking rather grey when they are actually quite bright, and the contrast peachy-red is too orange - bu****r! The papers are scraps from my stash and I've added faux stitching around the edge. There's lots of sparkle on this card but as I ran out of Stardust Stickles, I've had to resort to wet glue and loose glitter - now everything in the room sparkles! The embellishment in the corner is created with Nellie's Choice punch and emboss poinsettias layered up over a double white organza bow and little pieces of Marianne diecut fronds and leaves.

It's an anything Christmassy goes challenge on the ABC Christmas blog, and also on the Paper Sundaes blog too. Totally Gorjuss have a Let it Snow challenge, and the Digital Tuesday theme is for a Winter Wonderland.

Now if the glue would just dry I'll have another card to share with you tomorrow, but for now I have tiles to grout .. .. ..

Little Heidi

Hello again! I am back with a card that I finished ages ago but never got around to taking a picture, until this morning. It has been sat in the conservatory freezing behind piles of boxes, but the pile is slowly getting smaller and at last, we have hot water! Another day and the shower will be operational although it will be the new year before the new loo and radiators go in. I've tiled the back wall of the kitchen and started on the side wall, just need to get the trim for around the window and a new windowsill before I can carry on, but hopefully that area will be looking good for Christmas. I've also been doing the grouting in the bathroom and even painted the ceiling .. .. although as the tiles are big I've left sticking them on the wall to someone else. It's a slow job as I don't have a lot of energy to spare, but we are getting there.

My card is another simple design with one of Sylvia's new Wee images, this is Heidi all wrapped up warm against the snowy weather. She is coloured with Copics and I've stamped the greeting then inked the edges with the Nestie still in place to give the look of another layer. The papers are freebies from a magazine (all I could get my hands on at the time) and the snowflakes just punched out of white card. I managed to squeeze out just enough Stardust Stickles to add a little sparkle .. .. will need to add to the shopping list as the spare bottle is still in a box in the loft!

My computer is still playing up and I lost internet for a few days as the modem didn't like being moved on to an extension lead. Now it's back sat on top of the new boiler, hopefully they will be happy together and the electronics won't interfere. I can't scan the list of blogs I follow beyond the past couple of hours so I have no idea what challenges are around at the moment, or who has posted and what. I did see that the Winter Wonderland challenge is 'let it snow' so will enter little Heidi with them.

Not sure when I will be back again as there is still loads to do here. No news yet on our new planning application but there is plenty we can be getting on with now that we have simplified the design. Next on the list is a new garage door that fits snugly and keeps out the wind and rain, but that's a job for someone else to do in the new year so I might get a chance to do a little crafting now and then.

Turkey Dinner

oh my what a hassle it's been to get this simple little card loaded up to share with you - no internet yesterday as we had to disconnect and move things about ready for the new boiler (the phone socket is going to end up in the boiler cupboard unless we move it), then this morning no blogger, and even now it's a slow painful business to type .. ..

I can't get to my craft desk/stash at the moment as it's behind the boxes of boiler and bathroom fittings in the conservatory, so I'm having to make do with just a few bits and pieces I've got here in the living space. I had the pink flowers and green swirls in my bit box and the paper is more from the Papermania pack. Please excuse the wonky picture again, and for some reason my camera wont go into macro mode to take close ups for you. I've coloured with Copics and inked the edges of the card, paper and image to give a slightly vintage feel - I was going to add some Stickles to the santa hat the pup is wearing, but can't get to them, fortunately I'd not put the packet of pink gems away that I picked up recently so was able to add a little bling to the centre of the flowers. It's a simple little C6 card that will do nicely for one of the neighbours that I've not gotten to know yet.

I was too late to add my card to this week's Cute Card Thursday DT collection, and mine is rather simple anyway, do go and check out the fabulous creations the rest of the DT have made. Our theme is to add a number so I've stamped the LOTV little text in the middle of my die-cut star.

The Charisma Cardz challenge is for spots - mine are sparkly ones on the background paper although they don't show up too well in the picture. And can anyone tell me how to link up my card to the Charisma blog .. .. I can't see a linky anywhere.

I'll try to visit a few blogs this evening, internet connection allowing that is, and in between stripping wallpaper in the bathroom!

Simply Sweet

Another LOTV Christmas card to show you today, this is a C6 card for one of the local charities so not too many embellishments. I've inked the edges of the Papermania papers then added the Platinum Stickles, and I've also inked the image with Magnolia Bud Versamagic chalk ink to take off the stark white but it's not showing up, plus that ribbon is more of a magenta pink which is why I added the pink gems. Mr Mojo has left the building today so I'd best give up!

Not sure what challenges are around just at the moment as I'm still playing catch up in blog land. But, I did see that Party Time Tuesdays have just started an anything goes theme, so I'll enter this simply sweet creation.

caught napping!

I made another card! This is one of the new LOTV Christmas boys that I ordered ages ago but have only just got around to colouring in - hopefully you will see more of them very soon. I've coloured with my Copics using the BG93, 96 and 99 for the green shades to coordinate with the Papermania papers from last year. I was originally going for a masculine card so just inked the edges of the layers, but then when I'd added the ivy leaves, fronds and swirls it looked a bit naked so I got out the Platinum Stickles and tied a little organza bow. The berries are made with my Waco pearl maker pen and unfortunately some of them have run into each other, but hopefully still look ok.

The Lili of the Valley challenge is an anything goes theme, and over on the Stamptacular Sunday blog it's anything Christmas - perfect!

I'm hoping to be able to get around to catching up with blogs this afternoon. Mum hasn't been too well over the weekend and last night was particularly worrying so I called the doctor in - it seems she may be 'over-medicated' now .. .. I'll have to keep an eye on her over the next few days and see whether stopping a couple of the drugs makes a difference. Next week the District Nurse will come in to check how things are going, and I hope the Cardiac Physiotherapist will call soon as well, so we can start building her strength back up.

Fishing Friends

I finally finished a card off - well actually I finished it over a month ago and it has been sat on my craft desk in the conservatory, consequently the violet Copic shades had faded and touching up was a bit tricky, I find V12 fades quite a bit in the sun. This morning I added the text, the little bow and the flower to bling things up a bit. The snow and the centre of the snowflakes and flower is made with my pearl maker pen in crystal, this shade has a lovely mother-of-pearl effect that reflects the colours under and around it. I've had trouble with this one in the past, it tends to run a little, but now that the weather is colder it's a lot easer to use - so in the summer I'll pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours! I've added lots of Stardust Stickles as well, it is a Christmas card after all!

I found a couple of challenges I can enter, but will hold fire on the LOTV challenge as I do have another card in the making. Totally Papercrafts have a Christmas theme, Stampin' for the Weekend have a friendship theme, perfect for my Fishing Friends LOTV stamped image, and the theme on the Fun With Shapes and More blog is 'cold as ice'.

I'm still here!

alive, but barely kicking .. .. the hassles with the council planners over the past week have been stressful, so here is my moaning Minnie moment:

At the eleventh hour the case worker in charge of our application rang to say it was going to be refused because it could possibly at a later date be turned into a separate annex and they didn't like that idea! The fact that it would have required additional planning to do so didn't seem to sway .. .. who makes up the rules?! There was also the residency issue raised, but as Mum has a moratorium to live here permanently that had to be dropped, despite the hearsay that a certain planning officer said that I should put my mother in a home and the dwelling should only be used for holidays. I know that there are a lot of people living here permanently even though the 'rules' of sale over 20 years ago stated it was for holiday use; but for 52 weeks of the year so when are you not on holiday if you are retired anyway. It is a complicated legal issue that we don't want to get embroiled in - we just want a couple of bedrooms so the family can stay, visiting, on holiday, whenever! We established that my mother is within her rights to invite whoever she likes to stay with her, whenever she wants them too, for as long as she likes; so I can stay with her as long as she is living here. As my hubby is having to run the business back in the Saltash area we are renting a place back there, so legally that is my home anyway. What the future will bring, who knows: the last year has shown me that life can change radically in a short time and turn all your plans upside down.

Then there was the red herring issue of the drains .. .. that quickly went away thanks to my architect quoting the latest facts. He also rushed through an amended plan, which actually we prefer as it will save the hassle of trying to get the electric meters moved and taking out a window as well as a garage door. I'll loose the utility area at the back of the bungalow but can create an area within the front of the garage that will suffice. The bathroom will then go at the back of the garage where the utility currently is, so the drains are already in place as well as water and electrics: easier to convert, less money to spend on the building (more for the fancy stuff, yeh!) and verbally acceptable to the planners - shame they didn't want to consider it.

I felt I was running around like a headless chicken between the architect, the local councillor and our liaison at the planning office. Mum meanwhile has had a couple of 'turns' with the stress of it all, thankfully nothing serious more like panic attacks - and I've had a few of those myself too. Then to cap it all, yesterday the application is still refused on grounds that nobody mentioned, with the original plan (the amended seemingly was too different to be considered an amendment) and no mention of annexes, residency or drains! My architect feels we have been victamised because of of other issues going on in the area, and that we should appeal. However, the council know that Mum is frail, elderly and that these things take time and money - things she doesn't have in abundance.

We have been given a 'free go' with our amended plan, which verbally the liaison officer said would be looked on favourably, but I just don't know whether to trust/believe her. It is interesting to see that other applications have been approved in the past and the architect said that he had never come across the reason for our rejection (to do with development in the countryside and not being in a settlement - we are in the middle of an expanding estate of bungalows complete with shop, restaurant and pub open to the general public), he is waiting to see what happens to other applications in this area he has waiting approval. With the new application we have to include the words " extension to holiday bungalow" not just "extension to a dwelling" as seemingly you can have a holiday home in the countryside but not a permanent dwelling. The fact that there are permanent dwellings on the estate is immaterial it seems - they are 'past history' as far as the planners are concerned and not in line with current planning schemes for the area. There is still building going on here, holiday bungalows with a 52 week occupancy sales pitch, but I am told they were approved by a previous planning regime and that no 'new builds' will be allowed. We are not planning a 'new build' just a couple of bedrooms tacked onto the end of the bungalow - why can't people see sense and talk honestly and in plain English?

So, we are getting on with things that don't need planning permission, the kitchen units are in and I've baked 3 cakes and managed to cook several dinners, including a roast turkey for the family on Sunday! We still have to tile the walls, repair the ceiling architrave, get the electrics moved, plaster and paint, and figure out what to do with the floor. It would have been a better idea to get some of these things done first but with Mum being in hospital we ran out of time and didn't want to miss our slot with the kitchen fitter. The new electric boiler is sat in the conservatory waiting to be fitted in the next week or two and we have ordered the stuff for the existing small bathroom as that will need to be done in conjunction with the new boiler. But we can't move the doors about to create an en-suite for Mum until after the extension is done - delays that affect her more than any of us. We can get a new garage door, fix the floor and put in a ceiling, line the walls, and fit out the utility area in the garage with the old kitchen cabinets that are piled up in the conservatory. Then we can clear out the old utility area and get that floored, ceiling installed and walls boarded, the sink put where it needs to be in a bathroom and even a shower put in, we just need planning permission to close it off into a separate bathroom with a loo and bath as well.

So, I am busy and trying to stay positive, despite the feeling of being used and abused by the council planners. We will see what happens with the next application and if necessary go to appeal with that one. I have the local paper interested in running the story if I can find out a few more details, and will be contacting the MP and anyone else I think might be able to help. For now, if you've read this far, thank you for listening - and here's a wonky snap of the new kitchen so far .. ..

Take care everyone

MIA

Sorry not to be around and posting. My Mum had a heart attack last Thursday so I have been visiting her in the hospital, as well as trying to keep the house tidy whilst the kitchen remodelling is taking place! All being well, Mum should be coming home in the next couple of days and the kitchen will be installed next week. We also have a new boiler going in at around the same time with the associated changes to the plumbing .. .. oh, and did I mention the electrics to be rewired too!
This is what the kitchen looks like at the moment - the wall is almost down and the living space feels very spacious now! The fridge freezer had to be moved and the door you can just see beside it is being blocked up later this week. The cabinets along the back wall will all be coming out and replaced with new ones with a breakfast bar going in where the wall was.

I just hope that it's not going to be too stressful for Mum. She has tv in her room so can escape if she wants too, but I am sure she will be happier sat in a corner of the living area watching the men at work! I can take her around to a neighbour's home if things get really noisy and messy, although cooking for her is going to be a bit of a nightmare for a while with just a hob and microwave (the oven is knackered). She has been diagnosed as diabetic so I will have to be careful with the meal planning .. .. and she so loved Cornish Ice-cream but can't have it any more.

I'll take pictures as things go along, and hope to be able to get back to crafting in a week or so. I know I've not been around much to catch up with my loyal followers and friends, hopefully once Mum is home I can find a little 'me' time whilst she has her afternoon nap.

Halloween Spooks

Another Halloween card to share with you today, this one possibly for my youngest grandson as it doesn't have anything on it that could be pulled off and pushed up/in any of his bodily orifices! After a recent spell in the A&E department when he pushed a Lego brick up his nose I am not taking any chances - the brads are in fact punched dots stuck on the card. It's a simple layout with various images from a clear Penny Black set coloured with Copics and papers from Designer Digitals. I've inked the edges of the papers and the mustard card mats and risked the Platinum Stickles glitter on the edge of the image and the broom. The ribbon is in fact dark brown, not black, and has been in my stash for several years so it needs using up.

The Penny Black Saturday challenge is titled 'too cute to spook!' so hopefully my card will be ok to enter, and I won their last challenge! The Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog have a trick or treat theme while Cutie Sunday are looking for autumnal colours. Cards For Men are looking for animals, and finally Paperplay have a Halloween theme. Short and sweet today friends, I am still struggling with life and have a busy few days ahead so need to rest.

Mr Snowman

This week on Cute Card Thursday we have a sketch for you to follow, a nice easy one so don't panic! I've stamped my LOTV snowman with London Fog Momento ink onto my old favourite paper from Rymans. I did order a pack of X-Press It ultra smooth blending card as recomended by Copic - but I don't like it. For starters, it's not a bright white, well not as white as the Rymans card. It is thicker at 250gsm, but as I mostly mat my images I'm not too worried about sticking with the Rymans smooth bright white coated at 200gsm. But, the bigest let down for me was the blending - I am so used to keeping my inks wet and blending the shades together, even mixing colours on the image to get what I want, and the X-Press just wouldn't perform. The colours absorbed far to quickly and when I tried blending/shading I was very disappointed and ended up throwing my effort in the bin. Back to the Rymans and I was happy, especially when blending the B0000 and B000 around for the background. The blues are B21, B23 and B45, his hat is cool greys C1, C3 and C5, and I used C0 for snow shadow. The pressie and twigs are coloured with E41, E42 and E43, then the golden yellow touches are Y13, Y15 and Y17.

And here's the card. I do like this snowman for quick Christmas cards as you can get away with very little colouring, if you like. I've added Stardust Stickles for the snowy ground, inked the edges with a blue chalk ink and used my white Wacco pearl maker pen to make the falling snowflakes. The background paper is a digi scrap from my stash with a white punched and embossed layer as per the sketch. To embellish I've diecut various Marianne snowflakes from Coredinations classic and whitewash card then sanded and layered them up.

The Totally Papercrafts challenge is for lots of layers, I have quite a few on this card with the image and the layered snowflakes. The Secret Crafter Saturday theme is wrap up warm - Mr Snowman is wrapped up with his hat and scarf against that falling snow!

Freebies

I've made these two cards with Karen's freebie digi images from Cuddly Buddly. I printed them off a little smaller then cut out with slim oval Nesties, used up some of my older papers and scraps of red and green card to diecut the embellishments. I've coloured with my Copics and inked the edge of the image with a pale green chalk ink, although it's not showing up in my tweaked pictures.

The size is a little smaller than the UK C6 - I have a stack of green envelopes so had to cut the base card to fit them. The style is traditional, but with a brighter red/green colour combo for a more modern feel - I hope they will be liked. On the first one I made the holly berries with my red Wacco pearl maker pen, and they ended up with points - argh! So, when the outer had dried a little (half an hour-ish) I gently pressed the points down with the tip of my pokey tool so they would be flatter, more like berries.

On this one I had to decide when to stop with the punched holly leaves and red Marianne swirls .. .. when is enough, enough!

The only Christmas challenges I could find are looking for vintage, sparkly or pastel creations, not really a fit for either of these cards. Party Time Tuesday do have an anything goes challenge though, so I'll link up with them.

I am feeling a little worn and jaded at the moment, there's so much to do and I've run out of steam. I know I have to take it easy or risk a ME relapse .. .. somehow it's the little things that bother me the most - filling in a tax return for my late Dad really got to me this morning. Mental and emotional stresses can sometimes be more devastating for my ME symptoms than physical exertion. Ah well, tomorrow is another day .. ..

Abracadabra!

Abracadabra! Having 2 grandsons, I didn't need much persuasion to buy this LOTV cute little lad and create a Halloween card for one of the boys. I've coloured with my Copics and kept the card layout simple with just a background paper over-stamped with various PB spooky images. These are the Copics I used: for the blues B91, 93, 95, 97 and 99; for the reds R24, 29, E07 and 09; the beige colours are E40, 41, 42, 43 and 44; and the stars are Y13, 15 and 17. I used W1, 3 and 5 for the floor and created the background shadow with B60, BV31 and B63.

Here's the card. I've added a brad I found in my stash, coloured the stamped stars and to finish I've punched stars from yellow card - simples!

Party Time Tuesday have a spooky challenge, as do Stampin' For The Weekend, while the Allsorts challenge blog are looking for Halloween creations.

Under the Moon

I have this Victoria Case digi image on my computer, and did colour it up last year but thought it would be a good one to play with again this year. With so many of my stamps still in the loft I'm sorting through the digi designs for ones to print and colour. I've used my Copics, and have a list for you: I've used the BV20, 23, 25 and 29 for the 'black' areas, the reds are R35, 37 and 39, the greens are BG93, 96 and 99, and the oranges are E95, 97 and 99. For the clouds I used W00, 0, and 1 with W1, 3, 5 and 7 for the fence posts. The moon is Y0000, 000 and 00, and for the sky/background I've used B91, 93 and 95.

Here is the card with the disastrous silver pearls. You can see that things started out ok in the bottom right but got steadily worse .. .. and in close up they look absolutely awful. I've added black netting behind the image over the dark blue paper from my stash. The touch of red lace was to echo the red in the image and I punched out the black poinsettias adding a red gem in the centres then diecut the leaves to create my flower embellishment. The butterflies were an afterthought - wish I hadn't had that! Now I think I'm going to have to try and take them off and cover up the mess .. .. ..

Is this better? I took off the butterflies and made bigger ones with the two smaller sizes of Nellie's Choice punch and emboss sets layered up with black gems for the bodies. I then diecut the Marianne fronds from red card and made another black poinsettia for the right hand side, although it's not showing up too well in the picture. I couldn't add the lace behind it as I've used it all up. There's a tiny light patch below the top butterfly on the right where the silver blob came off .. .. maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it then you wouldn't have noticed!

Now I don't feel embarrassed entering the Halloween challenges with this one, so it's Crafty Cardmakers who are looking for cute with a dark twist, Papertake Weekly who are looking for spooky hues, Paperplay looking for black somewhere, and Paper Sundaes, Magical Monday and Stampavie and More all going with Halloween.

Sorry!

Sorry I'm late, and sorry is our theme on Cute Card Thursday this week. My internet connection was very iffy yesterday and I just couldn't load any pictures at all. I discovered that I don't have a 'sorry' stamp, and I'm pretty sure there isn't one boxed up in the loft either so I'll have to go shopping .. .. .. any excuse! I've used the little mouse parade stamp from a clear Penny Black set and coloured with my Copics. This is just a little 4" square card with a scrap of digi paper I've edged with Platinum Stickles to give a sparkly interest. I matted the image and text with a soft rose card and added more Stickles, then decorated with velvet scallop ribbon, punched flowers and leaves, and little pearls. The pearls in the centres of the flowers are sticky back ones, but the ones on the butterfly bodies I made with my cream Waco pearl maker pen. How come I can make nice rounded pearls with this pen, but have so much trouble with some of the others? You can see my disaster with the silver pen tomorrow!

The Penny Black Saturday challenge was to show images on the move, so my little mice should be right along there. I'm going to try and get around some of the blogs this afternoon, internet allowing that is.

And an update on the building works: the pv solar panels are on the roof, but with such miserable weather they aren't generating much electricity at the moment - yesterday was the first day and we reckoned we made £5 worth, hopefully we can equal that today but this morning was very dull and overcast and the numbers were moving very slowly. I've not managed to work out how much we got for 'free' during the day, but every little bit will help. The planning application is now tacked onto the front gate for the next 21 days, hopefully nobody will object and we will get the permissions by the end of November. I've finished painting the porch but need a man with a hammer drill to put up a knick-knack shelf and a picture before I take any pictures to show you (plus I must wash the floor and clean the windows). The electrician will have to fit the new light as the wiring is a little old and we couldn't figure out which was the live and which the neutral. And I am hoping my DH will find time to make a coat rack - I've got 3 hooks so it's only a 10 minute job - heh heh!

Spells and Potions

I'm back again! I coloured up this image a while ago then left it, and you can see that some of my Copic shades have changed colour - especially the pink/violet, but I think it still works. The image is one I've had on my pc for a while, it was a free download from Elisabeth O Dulemba on the Colouring Pages site, see here. For the hat and apron I've used the BV20, 23, 25 and 29 shades, I do like these for colouring things that are black. The pink/violet shades are V04, 06 and 09, but that V06 has gone lighter and pinker. The green shades are YG00, YG03 and YG17 and originally they blended into each other much better, now you can see the joins, especially on her sleeve - I'm not happy with that.
But rather than mess about, the card will go into one of the charity boxes as it's a C6 size and hopefully someone might like it. The papers are various bits from my box with a black chalk ink pad dragged around the edges and matted with violet/pink card. For embellishment I coloured a piece of ribbon with the BV29, fixed on the brads, added a sprinkling of stars and wrapped around black thread. The bat is a PB stamp I coloured and glazed before cutting out - and the glaze then cracked - ah well, it adds to the ambiance (my excuse anyway).

There are quite a few Halloween challenges about so I'm linking up with Everybody Art and the Fussy and Fancy Friday blogs. Still having internet problems, I'm not sure if it's my pc or living at the back of beyond that causes me to loose connection, and when I do get connected it's a slow process to get about, but I'll try to catch up!

Decorating the Tree

We have a treemendous theme this week on Cute Card Thursday, perfect for creating a few more festive cards. I've inked up my LOTV little lad decorating the tree, coloured with Copics and put the card together with freebie magazine papers and some die-cut pieces.

I have a list of the colours for you: skin tones with my usual E000, 00, and 21. His hair, shoes and the pot are the E41 to E47 shades and the stool is E81 with those paler shades. For the tree I coloured with YG13 and 17, his cardi and the stars are coloured with Y35 and YR23, and the reds are R37, E07 and E09. I've used warm greys W0 and W2 for shading, and a new pen for me warm grey W00 for shading the fur trim on his hat.

Here's the card. I've punched out little circles with a hole punch then domed them with a big ball tool before inking the edges and fixing to the card as faux brads. I have used a real gold sparkle brad in the centre of my floral embellishment created with various Marianne dies.

The One Stop Craft challenge blog have an anything goes theme whilst Paper Sundaes want to see your favourite colour combinations, well for Christmas mine is the traditional red, green and gold.

Although I've been quite busy since I last posted, my absence has been more to do with the internet connection that has been disappearing seconds after I log on - so visiting and blogging has been a nightmare. I took Mum to the Magnet showroom on Monday afternoon to finalise our kitchen, but we ended up with a different one in the end! We couldn't afford the top end painted cream design and had been hopeful for the economy version, but it was more ivory than cream and not what Mum wanted. So, instead we have decided on a light oak shaker design with a brown imitation marble worktop, I just hope it wont be too much with the teak dining room table, chairs and sideboard she already has, plus we were going to have a wood floor. Perhaps if the floor is very pale or very dark it might work, and if I paint the walls a pale shade and avoid any more natural wooden pieces, and have a linen or leather sofa, all will be ok. I've still not got the paint for the porch, and have decided not to paint the old tv cabinet for storage in there as Mum now has a walker to help her get around outside, and that will have to live in the porch too.

If the internet connection holds I hope to be able to catch up over the next few days .. .. fingers crossed!

Sweet Blossom

Another Wee card to share with you today, this is Sweet Blossom and I think she is my favourite, at least at the moment anyway. I've coloured her with my Copics and used the classic K&Co papers to create my card. All the edges are inked with Jumbo Java Versamagic chalk ink and I die cut the mat with a fancy Nellie's Choice die. The flowers and butterflies are punches with cream peals made with my pearl maker pen, and the leaf swirls are snips of a Marianne die. The Fab 'n' Funky challenge is to use dies and punches, whilst the Truly Scrumptious theme is distressing, my inked edges will hopefully count.

I've lost my list of Copic colours for you, and sorry there's no close up today - do you like them or should I not bother and just show the card?

Here is the new porch that went in and was finished yesterday - the men from Bradworthy Glass did a fabulous job and even cleaned the windows, so you can see the reflections! I've put a comfy chair and little table at one end so Mum can sit and watch the world go by whilst having a cuppa. The other end will have a coat rack and low unit for storage tucked away, and I might take a trip to Trago Mills to see if I can find a rug to take off the chill of the tiled floor under Mum's feet.

Winter Fairy

Exciting news, you can now get 6 of Sylvia's gorgeous Wee designs in rubber from Whimsy Stamps, and they are starting to appear in the UK craft stores too. This little cutie is the Winter Fairy, coloured with my Copics of course, and given the Stickles treatment with Stardust and Platinum. In addition to my usual skin colours I used YG93 and 97 for the greens, R24 and 29 for the reds, E42, 43 and 44 for her hair and the birdie, E50 and 81 for the fur trims and wings, and E30, 31 and 53 for her coat and boots. I've also used warm greys for shadow, but it's not showing up in the enhanced picture above.

Here's the card, a simple design with papers from the Milton pack I used yesterday. Today though I've gone for a more traditional feel with inked edges and a satin ribbon with just a smattering of small flowers and holly leaves. I've used a gold pearl maker pen for the centres of the flowers, but I'm having problems with getting the rounded pearl shape with this one.

The Flutterby Wednesday blog have an open challenge again this week, the Allsorts challenge want to see at least 5 flowers, Magical Monday want you to have used 3 punches (circle punch for the text, flowers and leaves), and the Anything Goes challenge is for dies and punches.

I'm scheduling this post as the workmen should be here by the time you read this .. .. I'll catch up and link up later in the day.

Time for cake!

This week on Cute Card Thursday our theme is 'time for cake' - but I'm back on my diet so colouring cake is as close as I'm getting to any! This image is called 'time for tea' by LOTV but there is a rather large muffin on the table next to that tea pot. I've coloured with Copics and went over the cake with my glaze pen. The colours are bright to match the free Milton & Co paper pack I got with a magazine and for the Copic Creations challenge to use saturated colours. For the green tones I used YG11, 03 and 25, for the pale pink RV00, R81 and 83. For the bright pink RV25 and 29, and the purple is RV 63 and 66. I've used E70, 71, 74 and 77 for the brown areas with warm greys for the shading.

Here is the card. I've gone a bit mad with the pink pearls made with my Waco pearl pen, and the little flowers are punched with my new Nellie's Choice punch and emboss set plus I used the poinsettia set to make the leaves. I'm also entering the Paper Sundaes blog challenge for lots of layers and the Papertake Weekly challenge where it's anything goes for their birthday celebrations plus the option to use punches.

Sharing a biscuit

I've used the auto brightness adjustment button for the close up of this card, and it's showing up a lot brighter than it really is - but at least you can see my brush strokes! The image is one of the Dawn Christmas designs by Nellie's Choice, and of course I coloured with my Copics then added the snow with my pearl maker pen. In addition to my usual skin tones I've coloured her skirt with E50, 51 and 53, her jacket with R20, 21 and 22, her hat and scarf with E00, 02 and o4 plus the salmon pink shades from her jacket and G40, 82 and 94. Her hair, boots and the little squirrel are E42, 43 and 44 and the shading is done with the cool greys C0, 1 and 3.

And here is the card looking more like in real life. I've edged the plaid patterned paper with a snowcap Adirondack dabber to add a distressed edge, and sanded the diecut elements to keep the shabby chic look going. The diecut buttons I threaded with twine, added the pale pink ribbon and finished with more pearls on the leaf spray.

The Dutch Dare challenge blog are playing bingo and I've got a line with ribbon, flowers and diecuts. Fun with shapes and more blog are looking for vintage/shabby chic, while the ABC Challenge blog are back with an A for anything goes theme.

I've been off line for a few days so have lots of catching up to do and hope to have a couple more cards ready to share with you this week.

Christmas Magic

I had originally planned this card for last week's LOTV challenge to create with Aqua and sparkle, but never got it finished. Life is a bit hectic here at the moment and I'm never sure from one day to the next if I'll be able to craft, or not. Anyway, I've coloured my LOTV image with Copics using the B0000, 000, 00, 02 and 05 shades for the aqua tones, with teddy and the stripes on her scarf in the E30s but I've mislaid my list so I'm not sure what shades I used for her hair. The sparkle is added with a quickie glue pen and loose crystal glitter.

Here's the card, a C6 for today's MacMillian Big Coffee Morning, simply finished off with ribbon, buttons and a Marianne diecut snowflake. And the glue in the middle of the buttons will have dried clear by the time I take it - promise!

Cupcake Crafts blog want to see teddy bears this week, Crafty Creations have a CAS theme, and this week over on the LOTV challenge blog it's for buttons - so I made it anyway!

Koetie and friend

I'm a little late with my DT card for this week's animal antics theme on Cute Card Thursday, but better late than never! I've inked up this cute stamp by Nellies Choice called Koetie and squirrel then coloured with my Copics. Not too many shades, mainly the warm greys, a little B0000 and touches of coral pink R20 & 22 plus green G40 & 94.

I've tried brightening my pictures as even though it's summer again here in Cornwall, it looked dark on my screen. I've added loose clear glitter with a glue pen around the edges of the layers, tied a length of silk ribbon around the embossed white layer, then diecut the Marianne snowflakes and poinsettias. I've inked the diecuts with aqua chalk ink and finished off with sparkly gems. Oh, and I forgot to say, I used my pearl pen to add the little snowflakes to the image.

Paper Sundaes have an anything goes theme running this week - but I'm having problems linking up with them .. .. will try again later when Mr Blogger has had his afternoon cuppa!